


Rivers and Roads

by sergeant_angel



Series: A Head Full of Doubt/A Road Full of Promise [3]
Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Gen, SHIELD agent Kate, kate bishop calling other people out for being trashcans with NO IRONY, let's just add the young avengers to everything, like glitter or sprinkles they make everything better, peggy carter as tony's godmother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 06:49:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14785547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sergeant_angel/pseuds/sergeant_angel
Summary: Kate Bishop has known Tony Stark since she was a kid.When he goes missing in Afghanistan, she's got something to say about it.





	Rivers and Roads

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a prequel to Riptide! Basically I watched some phase 1 mcu movies and got all riled up.  
> Title taken from the song of the same name by The Head and the Heart

"Director, it's been over a month. Please, let me take—not even the whole team! Me and Prodigy and Hulkling. Just let us  _look_. If we don't have results in a week--"

"You think you can do better than the entire United States Army?"

There's no good response to that, so she stays silent. 

"Good." Fury nods. "That's the right answer."

"Sir, I know Stark is an asshole and irresponsible but--"

"Sit," Fury points. "And listen. Do you think there's anything about your life I don't know?"

"I certainly hope so, Sir."

"And cut the  _sir_ crap. I know you don't mean it and it's irritating as hell."

"Yes, Director."

"You know," Fury leans back in his chair. "You haven't exactly curried favor with the army. Your failed attempts to help General Ross catch Bruce Banner." He leans forward, then, his one eye peering intently into hers. 

"Yes," she parrots, voice flat. "Our attempts to  _help_  Ross." Fury gives her a small nod. "Director, I know Stark is an irresponsible alcoholic mess, but he's  _my_ irresponsible alcoholic mess."

Fury looks at her before flipping open a file on his desk.  "Arrest, New York City, minor in possession of alcohol. Fine paid by Tony Stark, got you out of community service. Another arrest, New York City, minor in possession of alcohol. Fine paid by Tony Stark. Arrest. Los Angeles. Grand theft auto. Bail posted by Tony Stark."

"I was not actually drinking any of those times."

"I'm well aware of that." He taps the file. "Stark is a genius, but he's unpredictable."

"And that means he should die in a desert?"

"No. It means that  _you_ cannot go looking for him. We're going to loan out Prodigy and Patriot to help out Colonel Rhodes of the Air Force. He's met you before, so you  _cannot_  be in this mission. You will be running analysis  _from here_. Under no circumstances are you to make contact with Colonel Rhodes or Pepper Potts or Happy Hogan. Are we clear on that, Hawkeye?"

Kate closes her eyes and remembers the man who taught her to drive stick with a drink in his hand, who never got angry as she ground the gears of his Porsche into cringeworthy oblivion. 

"Agreed," she says, just like both of them knew she would. "But  _when_ we get him back, I get to see him."

"You don't get to make demands. That's not how this works."

"Please."

"I'll think about it."

>>>\---->

Kate stares at nothing but satellite photos for what feels like weeks. 

Three weeks, to be precise. 

Tony's basically got an entire satellite tasked with helping find him and Director Carter even comes out of retirement, sometimes angrily pacing Fury's office, other times sitting next to Kate as she scans live footage, old photos, new photos, anything based on leads that David and Eli give her. 

There's an area they've asked her to keep an eye on, and  _area_ is a loose term, covering several hundred square miles. 

Director Carter hands Kate a cup of tea. Director Carter doesn't believe in coffee, but she's also British, so Kate figures that gives her a pass. 

Kate takes a sip. The Director doesn't add any sugar or nonsense like that, so it's almost as bitter as coffee.

"Do you see that?"

"Hawkeye, you're a great deal younger than I am and everything in these photographs is the same color. Be more specific."

"That." Kate jabs her finger at the screen. It's a smear of light grey against a beige background, but it's heading  _away_ from the area Rhodes had wanted to go in on, the area the military told him not to go to. "It's the wrong color for dust. And it's moving too fast to be a car."

Director Carter's lips thin into a sharp line. "Send that entire clip to visual analysts. Have them see what they can do to enlarge and clarify the image. And Hawkeye," Carter pauses, halfway to Fury's office. "Try and extrapolate what direction he's going to go."

"You think it's him?"

"I have known Tony Stark since he was an hour old. He is perfectly capable of building himself a way out of a terrorist cell."

>>>\------>

Kate gets to be there. 

Not on the tarmac when he lands, but she's there when he pulls up to the Stark plant, there to witness him shoving a hamburger in his mouth and something in his face that's never been there before.

Kate pulls Tony close, but gently, mindful of his arm, swallowing back tears. "Missed you."

"Yeah, who else was gonna bail you out?" He jokes, but he clutches the back of her shirt, hugging her tighter. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

>>>>\---->

"Director, sir,  _please_ let me bring Tony in on this one."

"Aren't you in college, Agent?"

"Director, the Culver thing was just a cover and it didn't pan out. Let me bring Stark in on this!" She's practically bouncing on her toes in eagerness. She makes an attempt to tone it down. 

"Hawkeye, we agreed you would get a degree."

Kate flops down in a chair across from his desk, despite not having gotten permission to do so. She's never been very good with chain of command. 

"College is boring and expensive and I hate it. I want to be running missions!"

"This from the woman who made me watch  _Alias_ in order to gain an appreciation for how a good spy can both be a student  _and_ work ops." He levels her with a glare. "The answer is no, Agent. We already have eyes on Stark and someone ready to step in if he needs a nudge. You're not going to California." She doesn't move, and Fury sighs. "Look, if you're that eager, then talk to Coulson about adding more trainings to the docket. Now get out of my office. I have more important things than you to deal with."

Kate leaves, is out the door before she realizes something, pokes her head back in. "Director, was the reference to  _Alias_ an indication that I'll be doing some more ops, or--"

"You've just earned yourself three months of desk duty.  _Go_."

**Author's Note:**

> I gotta be honest I really still can't believe that I DON'T already have a fic titled "Rivers and Roads" because I effing love that song, I'm just. shellshocked.   
> Also, on a serious note, after months of writing Grown Up Kate, writing Teenage Kate is VERY DIFFERENT.


End file.
